How a Costco dessert inspired a former Palo Alto resident’s rise from home baker to winner of ‘The Great American Baking Show’
While the rest of us were baking sourdough during the pandemic, Ruiqi Chen was trying to recreate Costco cream puffs. She was back in her childhood home in Nashville and craved the treat. Six years later, she was crowned champion of “The Great American Baking Show.”
“The Great American Baking Show” is the American version of the more established “The Great British Bake Off,” featuring the same iconic baking tent in England and judged by Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. I personally binged many seasons of “The Great British Bake Off” during the pandemic and enjoyed how relaxing and positive the show was – a stark contrast to most competition shows, which are drama-filled and anxiety-inducing.
I chatted with Chen about her time on the show – from receiving two handshakes on the first episode (meaning Hollywood thought her bakes were perfect) to her unexpected victory.
Stay tasty,
Adrienne
How a Palo Alto transplant went from home baking to winning ‘The Great American Baking Show’
Ruiqi Chen did not think she’d win “The Great American Baking Show.” During the first challenge of the finale, she made a mistake that she thought sealed her fate – her meringues were all cracked.
This Japanese restaurant specializes in gozen, new coffee shops open and an upcoming art and wine festival
- Haru Japanese Restaurant, the newest project from Sushi Jin in Mountain View, soft opened in downtown Los Altos May 22.
- Downtown Mountain View’s board game cafe is getting a rebirth: New owners are opening Rice & Dice Board Game Cafe in the former space of Next Level.
- Bonbon Matcha is soft opening June 10 in Cupertino.
- Bikanervala, an Indian chain restaurant since 1905, is opening Saturday in Sunnyvale.
- Dough Zone, a Washington-based Chinese dumpling chain, is opening Friday at The Pruneyard in Campbell.
- Caffeinated Cowboy opened its new San Mateo location May 12 in the former Jill’s Coffee space. The coffee shop has locations in Santa Rosa and Pleasanton.
- Fresh Approach is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the East Palo Alto Community Garden with a potluck Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- La Playa in Pacifica reopened for to-go orders on Thursday. The cantina and grill has been temporarily closed since December and is now in a new location.
- The 50th Sunnyvale Art & Wine Festival is Saturday and Sunday with more than 200 artists, live music, food and activities.
- Palmetto Superfoods, an acai and smoothie chain with locations in Mountain View, Palo Alto and more, hosted its grand opening in Los Gatos on Saturday.
- Cookbook author VC Tang is teaching a Thai home cooking class on how to make khao soi at Redwood City’s Community Activities Building June 10 from 6-8 p.m.
- Chinese chain Charlie’s Tea is hosting the grand opening of its first Bay Area location in Cupertino Friday to Sunday with buy one get one free drinks.
- Arisan Tea & Coffee House, a San Jose-based cafe, is soft opening its Sunnyvale location Friday.
Pão de queijo at Padoca Brazilian Bakery
The Peninsula is chock full of French patisseries and Asian-fusion bakeries, but South American bakeries are sparse. Redwood City had a short-lived Argentine bakery, but I hadn’t seen a Brazilian bakery until Padoca opened in San Bruno late last month.
The first thing that stood out about Padoca was how cute the interior is. Monstera leaf throw pillows decorate banquette seating, a wall of potted plants feels both aesthetic and homey and parrot figurines are hidden throughout the space.
The second thing was how all the bread was sold out even before noon. Signs for guava-filled sweet bread, sequilhos and pão de batata sat on empty wooden shelves. Owner Pedro Brandao explained that a line was out of the door before the bakery even opened at 7:30 a.m.
From the pastry case, I ordered the pão de queijo, bolo de cenoura and coconut cheese bread. Out of the three, the pão de queijo was my favorite, with a satisfying chewy texture and strong cheese flavor ($4). The bolo de cenoura was lighter than American carrot cake, featuring an orange sponge without carrot shreds, and a rich chocolate ganache ($6.50). The coconut cheese bread was an interesting sweet and savory combo, featuring a sticky sweet glaze on the outside and melted cheese on the inside of an oblong yeasted bread ($6.50).
From the refrigerated section, I tried the strawberry-stuffed milk chocolate brigadeiro. It was like a chocolate covered strawberry, but with a fudgey exterior instead of a crisp chocolate shell.
To drink, I opted for the Brazilian cappuccino and Nutella macchiato ($7). Both were excellent, but the Brazilian cappuccino edged out the Nutella in my opinion for its rich, dark chocolate flavor and warm, cinnamony notes. If you prefer a sweeter drink, Nutella is the way to go.
To watch my review, follow @peninsulafoodist on Instagram.
Padoca Brazilian Bakery, 445 San Mateo Ave., San Bruno; Instagram: @padocabay. Open Wednesday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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